James
A surname from the given name James, meaning “son or descendant of James,” with deep medieval roots in England and Scotland.
The #85 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 1,238 Americans shares it.
Etymology
James is a patronymic surname formed from the medieval personal name James. That given name ultimately comes from Latin Iacomus, a form related to Hebrew Ya‘aqov (Jacob), and it spread into English through Old French and medieval Christian usage. In surname form, James simply identifies someone as the son or descendant of a man named James.
History
The name James is well established in English records by the medieval period, and it quickly became a common source of hereditary surnames. From it came a number of related surnames, including Jameson, Jamieson, Jempson, and, through French and nickname forms, several others. The surname is especially common in Britain and North America, helped by the enduring popularity of the given name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower explicitly noted that James had already become common enough by his day to have spawned several well-known derivative surnames.
From the historical record
“JiVKEMAN. See Jackman. JAMES. The first appearance of this Christian name in our annals is in Domes- day. It afterwards became a common sur- name, besides giving rise to Jameson, Jamieson, Jempson, Jemmett. and probably through its French form, Jacques, to Jeakes, Jacklin, and the widely-spread Jackson ; tliough…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom